The Victorian far east, a great spot for the bird watcher for several reasons. There is a great diversity of habitats, beach, a lake system, rivers, swamps, tall damp forest, dry forest, coastal heath. And it’s the last throw of the dice for the east coast. For anyone who keeps a Victorian state list this is the place to find birds that are common in New South Wales but don’t make it far round the corner, Figbird, White-headed Pigeon, Koel, Spangled Drongo all come to mind. The same is true for things botanical such as Bloodwoods. If only it wasn’t so bloody cold!
Spring comes late this close to the south pole and the wild flowers are doing great.
The locals are hardy, I have even seen people swimming. In Broome I tend to keep out of the sea for fear of stingers and crocodiles. Down here it’s more for fear of body parts dropping off.
But it’s beautiful. The scenery is breathtaking.
The birds know it’s spring as evidenced by these Welcome Swallows.
Dismissed in a single post. Is this the result of the old Sydney Melbourne rivalry? We made just two camp stops, Port Macquarrie and Shellharbour, each for two nights. We breezed past the Border Ranges, Alberts Lyrebird, the gorgeous Regent Bowerbird and the almost impossible Rufous Scrub-bird. Towed the van through Sydney’s nightmare traffic without any attempt at the Rockwarbler and the Eastern Bristlebird.
The journey south has slowly renewed our acquaintance with birds that will be commonplace during our stay in Victoria, Superb Fairywren, Red Wattlebird, Blackbird, Starling and New Holland Honeyeater. We haven’t caught up with Kelp or Pacific Gulls yet but it won’t be long.
We crossed the Victorian border yesterday afternoon. We are camped at Mallacoota, our last stop on the east coast. The coast turns the corner here and heads west. This means a number of east coast birds will be dropping out when we travel on.
Progress southwards has been slow over the last week or so. The reason is simple Queensland has the highest rate of intra-Australian immigration of all the Australian states. This is where some of our friends have resettled and we even have a few that were born here. We have been looked after royally by them. My last full day in the state this trip was spent minding the dog while Gayle visited a friend that she made on her first day at kinder.
Queensland is the second largest state and the third most populous. Surface area 1,723,030 square kilometres (665,270 sq mi), population 5.5 million which is roughly 3 people per square kilometre – if you spread them out evenly you’d have trouble finding them. But they are not spread out evenly. Three quarters live in the southeast mainly Brisbane, most of the rest live up the coast in the narrow strip east of the Great Dividing Range. The only town of more than 20,000 in the vast plains west of the Divide is Mount Isa.
Brisbane is the State Capital, it’s tucked away in the bottom right hand corner. The tropic of Capricorn crosses the state about 370 km further north. We entered the State in the far north west via Hell’s Gate which is 2,259km by road by the direct route, not the way we did it. We will leave via Tweed Heads. Just 103km south of Brisbane and we’re in New South Wales. Queensland is very asymmetric!
It also has a great diversity of flora and fauna and a great range of habitats. The wet tropics are very wet, the far west is usually very dry and the Gulf of Carpentaria is both alternately. The State bird list (according to eBird) stands at 667 species. Bear in mind some of those are accidentals not residents or regular visitors. I’ve seen 249 of the usual suspects this year. The closure of Mount Lewis put a dent in my expectations and if you really want to clean up you must spend time up at the tip and in Iron Range, Cape York.
We left the wet tropics a fortnight ago and since then have racked up 145 species. The map shows where the binoculars got a work out.
I’m putting the final touches to this post in Port Macquarrie, NSW. Gayle has family here. I drove through pouring rain. It was just 15°C on arrival. That was in daytime, I can’t remember an overnight low as cold as that in Broom’s winter. But there’s no such thing as bad weather it’s just bad clothing. Shame that’s all I’ve got. I may lose a finger or two. Even the birds are laughing at me.
Capital of Queensland, 2.8 million souls, third most populous city in Australia. Perhaps the most pleasant of the state capitals, it retains some natural values but despite that it’s too congested, confusing and too bloody urban for me to actually reside in.
I’m sure normal visitors can find a great variety of wonderful and fulfilling things to do but let’s cut straight to the important thing …
Where to watch birds in Brisbane
Tinchi Tamba Wetland
Sandy Camp Road Wetlands
Nudgee Beach
Banks Street Reserve
Kalinga Park (Wooloowin)
There are many more but I can vouch for these spots.
Rum, Ginger Beer, Sugar of course, macadamia plantations, the Burnett River and 73,747 people. Plus a dog friendly botanic gardens with rather more wildlife than the average, nesting birds, turtles and Eastern Water Dragons in abundance.
Pluymed Whistling DuckEastern Short-necked TurtlePlumed EgretEastern Water DragonEastern Water Dragon
We left Ingham in the rain but arrived at Finch Hatton in bright sunshine. The caretaker at the Show Grounds was complaining about the heat and we were pleased to take advantage of the shade offered by some large fig trees. Cane harvesting was under way with trucks bringing in cages of cut cane for transfer to the trains which are such an interesting feature of the sugar country.
Finch Hatton is a good base to visit Eungella National Park, Eungella Dam, Kinchant Dam, Finch Hatton Gorge and a new find for us, De Moleyns Lagoon. If you search Google Maps for it you will find it in two places. Being a lagoon the one with the blue patch associated with it is the one you want which didn’t stop my in-car navigation system from directing me straight across a cane field to the other one. I ignored the advice. The one true lagoon can be found by taking Brand Road to what appears to be its end at the Council Tip. Keep the tip on your right and continue on a gravel track to a locked gate. The astute bird watcher will quickly solve the problem posed by the gate and drive on to the water’s edge. It is worth the effort.
That night we went to bed to the sound of a raucous argument between a Little Red Flyingfox and a Ring-tailed Possum over who owned the figs above our heads. We woke the next morning to the equally raucous and persistent calls of a Channel-billed Cuckoo.
The next camp site was 213km south at St. Lawrence adjacent to another excellent wetland birding place.
Today we made another step down the Bruce Highway, crossed the Tropic of Capricorn near Rockhampton and tonight we are are camped at Tannum Sands near Gladstone. It feels so urban after our sojourn in the less densely populated north and northeast of the country.
From Cooktown in the north to Townsville in the south and inland to include the great dividing range and Atherton Tableland. It’s in the tropics and no one would deny it’s wet. Within that region there is an area of approximately 8,940 km² of World Heritage protected forest. It’s home for 50 species of endangered fauna, 22 of which are found nowhere else. And of course there are many other species that are thriving.
We traveled over 1000km in 17 days camping in 7 different places. The bird list ran to 147 species. including Red-backed Buttonquail and Cassowary, Cryptic Honeyeater and Victoria’s Riflebird. We crossed the trail of James Cook, we saw strangler figs, Australia’s greatest waterfall and we enjoyed poached eggs on toast in the Cooktown Botanical Gardens. We avoided touching any stinging trees and getting fried in a wildfire. The dog picked up a tick but we found it before any harm was done.
Each symbol on the map represents a place where a bird list was submitted to eBird.
And then we packed up in the rain and drove 500km south to Finch Hatton.
Sugar, bananas, fewer people and slightly less rain than Innisfail. At nearby Lucinda you can see the longest pier in the southern hemisphere (5.76km, 3.58mi). Its purpose is to transport sugar from shore to ship, a 22 minute ride on a conveyor belt. Every source that I’ve consulted points out that it follows the curvature of the earth so is not flat, one end is 2m higher than the other. I am unsure what to make of this amazing revelation. Any structure more than 5km long has to come to some accommodation with the curvature of the earth. It would make good sense if the far end is lower than the land end (if that is the case) because that would reduce the energy required for transportation. Other than that I’m sure it seems flat at every point along its length.
From the town you can look out across the cane fields to the mountains of the Great Divide. At the moment they are shrouded in cloud. Somewhere up there is Wallaman Falls, it’s about a 50km ride on roads unsuitable for caravans. The falls are the longest single drop in Oz at 268 metres. A lookout gives an excellent view.
The upper stretches of Wallaman Falls Road run through rainforest protected in the World Heritage listed Wet Tropics. Traveling slowly gives a good chance to see and hear some rainforest birds including Noisy Pitta and the indomitable Cassowary. I was lucky enough to hear the Pitta on its pedestrian journey and find a Red-backed Buttonquail on the side of the road.
It is the surrounding high country that holds the naturalists interest. A trip to Paluma was on the itinerary but unfortunately heavy rain has done so much damage to the road that such a trip wasn’t viable.
The Tyto Wetlands is on the edge of town and turns up a reasonable bird list.
Wallaman FallsRed-backed ButtonquailTurtle at TytoAustralasian Darter
Our sojourn in the Wet Tropics, Townsville to Cooktown and inland along the Dividing Range, is almost at an end. I must post a summary.
Innisfail, a little over 7000 people, sugar, bananas and rain. Largest town in the Cassowary Coast region. The highest rainfall in Australia is recorded on the summit of Mount Bartle Frere,1,611 metres (5285 feet). Innisfail is not far away and boasts of being the town with the highest rainfall in the country. The sky is blue at the moment.
We have avoided seeing Cassowary on the trip so far. Missed by moments at Lake Eacham according to eye witness accounts, which were enthusiastically forthcoming once my camera and binoculars were evident, and missed out on the north side of the Daintree River where I have had success in the past. We have never failed on the Cassowary Coast. Friends tell me Mission beach but Innisfail is close to Etty Bay and Coquette Point which I have found reliable. (No dogs at Etty Bay).
The photos were taken at Coquette Point and on Cowley Beach Road. Found dad and two chicks at both places. Plus a single individual on Coquette Point Road. It is the male that builds the nest, incubates the eggs and then shepherds the youngsters for about nine months.
Cassowaries are dangerous. They are the heaviest Australian avian and can inflict nasty wounds with their feet. Don’t be carrying a sandwich when you meet one. Don’t set out to feed them (but do drop the sandwich and back off). I have a very long lens and was no where near as close as the photos imply.
The big city of far north Queensland. Cairns had a population of 169,312 people in the 2021 census but it seems to grow rapidly between every visit and will certainly be bigger now. And the traffic is crazy … good preparation for what’s to come down the coast.
Birding hot spots include the Centennial Lakes, Mount Whitfield, the Esplanade and Cattana Wetlands. It makes a good gateway to the Tablelands. Fly in, rent a car, two nights here and then escape the crowds.
One very good reason to be here is the Varied Honeyeater. It’s fairly reliable on the Esplanade which is about the southerly limit of its range. It occurs in the odd spot up Cape York and then New Guinea. I had never managed a photo of them before but I noticed a couple of them anting in some leaf litter. They were chest to the ground with wings spread and appeared to be in ecstasy. When they’d finished they lingered in some low vegetation giving me a good chance to get the shot.
Yellow Orioles have a distinctive voice. Their three note call “Al Co Hol” is heard everywhere across the north of Oz from just east of Broome but usually they are hidden in the foliage or high in a tree. I photographed this one and the Sunbirds at Catana Wetland. Bush Stone-curlews are doing well in Queensland. We have had them visit the van on a number of evenings. I photographed this couple in the Centennial Gardens. Sadly they are not doing at all well in Victoria.
Next stop is Innisfail looking for the elusive Cassowary.
bobmcgee 